A warrantless search and arrest leading to charges of two counts of possession of a controlled substance, namely methamphetamine and cocaine, for the purposes of trafficking, was lawful, ruled Prince George Provincial Court on July 18, 2022.
The offences occurred on August 9, 2018, in Prince George, with police arresting Vincent Joseph Probe and seizing evidence on his person and in his vehicle. He was found guilty of the charges on February 24, 2023.
Probe alleged his arrest was unlawful and a violation of his charter rights.
Large sums of cash, some drugs and drug paraphernalia were on found on Probe’s person and vehicle when he was arrested, including $1,465 in a ziplock bag, 16.33 grams of methamphetamine in a green ziplock bag seized from the driver’s seat, 2.5 grams of rock cocaine, 2.41 grams of cocaine in another ziplock bag, a digital scale, and what RCMP believed to be a scoresheet.
According to the ruling, no charter rights were violated, with police providing credible evidence collected by a "Street Crew" as part of surveillance operations with the Prince George RCMP.
Justice Judith Doulis relied on observations collected by the Street Crew and the knowledge of Constable Braden Chamberlain, then a 15-year veteran of the RCMP.
"In my view, the observations the Street Crew made of Vincent Probe and the people with whom he interacted, combined with Constable Chamberlain’s knowledge and experience with drug-trafficking investigations generally, provided a credibly-based probability of possession and trafficking," wrote Doulis.
Police had been conducting surveillance on another suspect in July 2018, before shifting investigation to Probe, after noticing Probe's vehicle repeatedly at an apartment complex being observed for drug activity, in addition to Probe being associated with a drug trafficker known to police.
Probe also made seven short-duration meets over four days with his vehicle that were considered by police as evidence of drug activity, on the dates of July 26, 27 and August 9, 2018.
"I find it the fact that Vincent Probe was unknown to the police and not the original target of the Street Crew’s investigation diminishes the risk of confirmation bias. Vincent Probe was not a suspect the officers immediately thought guilty of drug trafficking," Doulis noted.
